If you want to see a HUGE brown mount drop in to the tackle shop at the marina on the Salmon River if you get in that area.I think it is a 40# fish but was not certified so it could n't be in the record books.I don't know how long it is but it rivals the largest Kings that I have seen.

I agree with pennkev. over the years I have developed a way of telling how big my fish are. anything over 10 usually get an inch to an inch and a half added. if I caught a 20 inch fish it would probably be 25. haha. I don't think that I am the only one. one fish species that i can tell the length of is a striper. they just have a look once they hit 28 inches. the tape is the only way to tell but who really carries a tape around when trout fishing?

I have clear 20" marks on my fly rods and usually photograph the fish with the rod. With the pic developed I can verify the size. Many bass I've landed over the years have turned out to be a bit shorter than I guessed. Some very large trout that I've got over the years that I initially thought were mid to upper 20s, when carefully viewed in the photo, turn out to be 23 or 24. I have a tape measure in my vest but never seem to use it.

Sometimes a fish like Matt is holding can be a full inch or two longer just due to extension of the lower jaw kype.

Most of the bigger fish iI've seen or have been associated with have come in the spring. I'm going to try late night streamer or mouse fishing May - June time frame. If I get one that's remotely close to 30", I'll post it and then list ridiculous stream location. Keep bumping thread or I'll forget. LMAO

Not exactly pictures, but I think being 1 1/4 inches off is pretty far from laughable. These results are quite typical and repeated annually. My buddy won this contest in the 90's with 29 1/2 inches. I'll get a pic of the mount with a tape next time I get up that way. It's OK to not be that good of a fisherman, we don't judge. No need to lash out or be a troll about it.

Not exactly pictures, but I think being 1 1/4 inches off is pretty far from laughable. These results are quite typical and repeated annually. My buddy won this contest in the 90's with 29 1/2 inches. I'll get a pic of the mount with a tape next time I get up that way. It's OK to not be that good of a fisherman, we don't judge. No need to lash out or be a troll about it.

Boyer

Interesting that one of the browns and one of the brooks came from WW streams (Swattie and Dusky, respectively). I assume the Conewago reference for the Lightnin' Trout is the stream in Adams County, but the angler's hometown is just downstream fron the Conewago in Dauphin County. Or mebbe it was the Dauphin County stream and the fish was a 'bow that swam too close to TMI.

Fall is not the only time to get some! If you fish in a hatchery stocked stream, throw pellets. If you want monsters...throw meat in a place that has beasts! My 28.5" brown earned 1st place the year before (2011), same contest (refering to the link above), and was weighed on a spring scale at 9lbs. My fish was released. It was not a hatchery fish. My fishing buddy had 2nd place with a 26.25" brown. Both fish where Conodoguinet catches and caught on artificial lures (spring and winter respectively). I know they are out there. 2012 my largest were 24" three times. This year...so far, 25, 25.5 and 26"ers. That equates to constant year round boots in the water, an ex-wife, a very understanding girl friend, and very obsessive behavior. Eventually, I might get lucky enough to see one thirty inches. Put the time in.